No more self doubt after a bad game. No more looking around the soccer pitch wondering if she belongs.

She does.

But it’s taken a whirlwind six months for the 16-year-old rising soccer star from Brampton to acknowledge it. In the spring, Yekka’s goal was simply to make Canada’s under-17 team.

“That was the only goal I had in mind because I thought that was the only goal reasonable,” she says.

Then she got noticed at the under-20 national camp in July. In August she was named to the Canada Games all-star team, and in October she made her national team debut. In her second match, Yekka was Canada’s top player.

Already verbally committed to the University of Michigan, the Grade 11 student has spent most of the past month in Brazil with the national team, playing alongside soccer stars she’s idolized her entire life.

“It’s a bit unreal,” Yekka says. “Sometimes in the middle of practice I’m just like, ‘Whoa, hold on a second, I’m playing with all these people.’ It’s so different. It’s amazing.”

But for those who know her best, Yekka’s speedy rise hasn’t been wholly unexpected.

She started playing at age 6, and early in the morning she can usually be found parked in front of a TV watching whatever match is on.

“She sees the game well, she has electrifying speed and overall she’s just a down-to-earth good kid,” says Peter Arcand, who has coached Yekka for the past three years at Brams United.

“I saw her play years before she came to us, and I remember saying she’s going to be brilliant. . . . She’s got all the tools: She’s technically sound. She tactically understands the game.”

Canadian national team coach John Herdman has done nothing but heap praise on the tenacious midfielder, who has elevated her game by training at the highest level.

“Since I’ve been (with Team Canada) I’m more aware,” Yukka says. “I’ve learned that once you’re at the top level there’s still so much more to learn. . . . There’s no such thing as: You can’t learn. You can always be learning and constantly improving your game.”

She’s a cautious dreamer no more.

“I’m starting to get out there. I’m hoping to play not only at the under-20 World Cup in Canada, but the senior women’s cup in Canada and possibly the Olympics.”

She says 2014 is going to be her year: “I just want to give my 100 per cent.”

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.